Matt Rinella for president

[Hnthrdr]

I posit that violations of law and on the fence ethical actions take place everyday of the hunting season. Nobody "cares" unless it is a known person.

I had posted somewhere on here about a friend running across a handful of carcasses in the unit we hunt. He spent most of September hunting the alleged poachers, never hunting his own tag, and provided CPW with a lot of information for them to investigate. The result was great and I hope they throw some preference points at him. I also bet very few people outside of those he knows, and knows where he hunts, are aware of this.

I am also aware of someone who is at a 33% recovery rate on elk so far this year, but they aren't famous.

I think if "we" are to care so much about what a person "we" will never have any influence over it is a bit wasted. The best way to affect law violations and iffy actions is to take care of yourself and those you are responsible for first; if "we" all did that, and reported an law violations (because that is probably an ethics thing), then there would probably be an improvement. There's some saying about cleaning up your own yard before peeking over your neighbor's fence that comes to mind.

CPW caught a ring of poachers in a unit that myself and friends hunt, my buddy who had a tag this year was bummed that this camp was there the entire month of September. They had killed 3 nice bulls and cut the heads off, and a couple bears, using vehicles in restricted areas and such. If those are the guys your friend helped catch good on him! Sometimes CPW catches the bad guys

 

[Hnthrdr]

Although I don't disagree with you at all...

It's capitalism.

Would Sitka, First Lite, Tikka, Nightforce, etc be coming out with anything new if there wasn't money in it?

The reason we're not all hunting with our .30-30s in old jeans and Buffalo plaid shirts is the money in the industry.

True but imagine the class of bucks and bulls that would probably exist in the backcountry if everyone was so chaffed up and uncomfortable and no one explored back there, and everyone was taking 100-250 yard shots… just saying

 

[Coveyleader]

Nothing new here, guys have been getting busted for stuff like this for years. Same stuff, different generations and plenty of big names.

I find it very interesting that this site, (seen on this very thread) is part of the problem. Just look at censorship of anything negative towards these “influencers”. Instantly deleted, so don’t exclude forums from the problem as it’s evident what’s going on.

 

[roymunson]

True but imagine the class of bucks and bulls that would probably exist in the backcountry if everyone was so chaffed up and uncomfortable and no one explored back there, and everyone was taking 100-250 yard shots… just saying

This just sounds like a "get off my lawn" moment... While you're not wrong, its not going to change. So move forward. We're never going to get pickup trucks with carburetors, 8 track tape decks, and mechanical engines that the average joe can work on at home. Would it be nice? sure, but it aint gonna happen.

I'm guessing you are using good optics, comfortable clothes, and the things you stated above, its just that no one else should, right?

Different goals in the woods for different people. Only way to control it is to buy the land yourself and do what you want. Otherwise, roll with the changing world. Our parents and grandparents said the same thing about us.

 

[Hnthrdr]

This just sounds like a "get off my lawn" moment... While you're not wrong, its not going to change. So move forward. We're never going to get pickup trucks with carburetors, 8 track tape decks, and mechanical engines that the average joe can work on at home. Would it be nice? sure, but it aint gonna happen.

I'm guessing you are using good optics, comfortable clothes, and the things you stated above, its just that no one else should, right?

Different goals in the woods for different people. Only way to control it is to buy the land yourself and do what you want. Otherwise, roll with the changing world. Our parents and grandparents said the same thing about us.

Not at all I was just having a little imagination if we all still hunted in heavy cotton with open sight lever guns haha I love my technical clothing and gear. That said I am firmly in the camp that western states/ western hunting has been ruined by social media/ the internet. Ironic I know as I use a social media platform on the internet to write that down, I think a sociology professor put it best we have minds of apes and technology of gods.

 

[fngTony]

Nothing new here, guys have been getting busted for stuff like this for years. Same stuff, different generations and plenty of big names.

I find it very interesting that this site, (seen on this very thread) is part of the problem. Just look at censorship of anything negative towards these “influencers”. Instantly deleted, so don’t exclude forums from the problem as it’s evident what’s going on.

What has been deleted off of this thread?

 

[Ucsdryder]

What has been deleted off of this thread?

He said forum, I think he was talking about the deleting of threads talking about the conviction, which I agree with. No need to speculate, slander, or accuse, but censoring news articles, in my opinion, which isn’t worth crap, is going too far.

 

[Lawnboi]

Until we place more value on the meat than the headgear the problems will persist.

 

[Justin Crossley]

Nothing new here, guys have been getting busted for stuff like this for years. Same stuff, different generations and plenty of big names.

I find it very interesting that this site, (seen on this very thread) is part of the problem. Just look at censorship of anything negative towards these “influencers”. Instantly deleted, so don’t exclude forums from the problem as it’s evident what’s going on.

Remember that it's not the job of Rokslide and its staff to run around policing everyone in the outdoor industry. I totally understand why it can look like we are trying to protect those people, but that's not it at all.

We just don't have the time or the desire to moderate the train wrecks those threads always turn into, so Robby and Ryan have decided to crack down on them altogether.

Lately, it feels like a lot of our members need to get out and hunt more instead of complaining about some schmuck on Instagram or YouTube and how Rokslide isn't giving its members a place to grandstand.

Newsflash, Rokslide was created to discuss gear and tactics. Some of our members who have been here for the last ten years remember those days when it was small, and that was the focus. Now we spend most of our time and energy dealing with issues from the classifieds and general nonsense.

 

[ReaptheHeat]

If there is money to be made, it will be exploited.

Ethics go out the window when your paycheck is on the line with these influencers.

 

[displacedtexan]

Not at all I was just having a little imagination if we all still hunted in heavy cotton with open sight lever guns haha I love my technical clothing and gear. That said I am firmly in the camp that western states/ western hunting has been ruined by social media/ the internet. Ironic I know as I use a social media platform on the internet to write that down, I think a sociology professor put it best we have minds of apes and technology of gods.

The mental exercise of "what if" is always fascinating to me.

We have one system, but... What if...

 

[Glory]

If there is money to be made, it will be exploited.

Ethics go out the window when your paycheck is on the line with these influencers.

I guess you can say that about any line of work. We just like to pick and choose what are the righteous ways to make money.

 

[OR Archer]

Honesty most people that hunt have no clue who the Bowmars are regardless if they have social media or not. Same goes for most “professional” hunters outside of a very select few. I would say habitat loss, predation, and loss of access are far more detrimental to hunting than a few knuckleheads on social media.

 

[displacedtexan]

Honesty most people that hunt have no clue who the Bowmars are regardless if they have social media or not. Same goes for most “professional” hunters outside of a very select few. I would say habitat loss, predation, and loss of access are far more detrimental to hunting than a few knuckleheads on social media.

The average non hunter knows little or nothing about habitat loss, predation, and access loss.

But they will see news articles like "______ charged/convicted of (insert violation)"

 

[OR Archer]

The average non hunter knows little or nothing about habitat loss, predation, and access loss.

But they will see news articles like "______ charged/convicted of (insert violation)"

Unfortunately most hunters, heck most people, live in a little bubble so to an extent I would agree.

 

[westsloper]

I honestly question how much any of the influencers (even the "good" ones) contribute. For all the money going to BHA or RMEF, does that cancel out the tremendous damage done by the overcrowding in our woods? More boots on the ground means more disturbance and stress for wildlife. Not to mention the catastrophic impact of all the ATVs and UTVs.

This isn't even about one person's experience of hunting in the woods. It's about the destruction of wild areas due to so many people.

A few RMEF habitat projects or BHA legal victories aren't going to make up for our mountains getting trashed. And it is happening (I'm recalling the thread where people were arguing about whether or not they should have to bury their poop in the woods). Sure, there are plenty of low-impact ultralight roksliders out there in their seek outside tipis. But I sure do see a ton of meadows getting totally wrecked by groups of friends each bringing their toy haulers and turning the meadow into a parking lot and garbage dump.

You should be very skeptical of anyone trying to motivate people to get out into the woods, whether it's from REI or a hunting manufacturer or an instagram hunter. The numbers of people does make a negative impact on the wildlife and the habitat - there is no way around that.

 

[VAHighlander]

Although I don't disagree with you at all...

It's capitalism.

Would Sitka, First Lite, Tikka, Nightforce, etc be coming out with anything new if there wasn't money in it?

The reason we're not all hunting with our .30-30s in old jeans and Buffalo plaid shirts is the money in the industry.

Those were good days.....

 

[deerhunt1988]

Lately, it feels like a lot of our members need to get out and hunt more instead of complaining about some schmuck on Instagram or YouTube and how Rokslide isn't giving its members a place to grandstand.

That's the one thing whitetail hunting in the east has going for it. I can post and complain about influencers while sitting in the stand bored out of my mind.

 

[Travis907]

We should all do our part to positively contribute to the hunting heritage for current and future generations. People spend too much time worrying about others and what they do. Do what you can do and control what you can control! Bottom line….just hunt (legally and ethically)!

 

[HoneyDew]

@Hnthrdr

If the “West” has been ruined it’s because like in the days of old it was the “wildest” places left and we just took longer to get there. If anything I agree that the internet is a contributor but more so in the technological advances way rather than just a platform for SM. The “wild” places are easier to reach/live in than previously so more people are living/visiting/hunting there. GPS, inreach, starlink, solar, ultralight gear, atvs, OnX, palatable dehydrated meals, the list goes on. Better gear/equipment for cheaper than historical prices allows people to travel and hunt further and longer in the wild remote places. The risk burden for remote hunting was previously much higher. Now you just need enough money to buy the stuff listed above to the point where you feel comfortable driving/hiking/flying into the backcountry for a week.

Updated to add user tag since it didn’t add the quote I wanted.